10/20/2010

Gravad lax - cured salmon with dill - is a great favourite in Scandinavia. Terribly fresh and clean-tasting, this healthy dish makes a sophisticated starter, and being able to say 'I made it myself' gives you innumerable smug points (don't be coy, we all know they exist).

10/12/2010

The Barbican centre - a City cultural mecca and architectural mess - has always been a bit crap for food. I can’t see why this should be the case, but like Tube overcrowding and the inevitability of death, it’s something one comes to accept.

However, the times they are a-changin' – as nobody who has ever played at the Barbican would say – and the tired old Waterside restaurant, with its overtones of French service station cum staff canteen, has been revamped into a ‘food hall’.

10/03/2010

09/29/2010

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, as said some poet-johnny who liked being drippy about stuff. And because it tends to get a bit dingy at this time of year, also the season of getting home from work in the dark and having to knock up a quick supper before some surprisingly good tv.

09/09/2010

There are few great gelaterias in London - and it's one of senseless situations that can make the sensitive soul very sad and a bit angry. I'm not going to listen to all your arguments about 'oh, but that's cause it's cold here' - because we actually eat ice cream quite a lot, and there's no reason why it should mostly be BAD ice cream.